Splat X Separation
by ThePizzaLovingTurtle
Summary: Set just before the events of Splat X 2. (Course, that story was deleted a while back by the original owner.) One hybrid wants nothing more than to watch Inkopolis burn under her own hand. Another longs for a return to her own world. A tale of two Octo-Inklings and unforeseen circumstances. Tenta and Tek are Dread Angel's characters, as is Splat X Dread Angel's series.
1. Interruption - Teknical Difficulties

"...Jack?"

"Yes?"

"...I'm still not sure."

"Not sure of- Ah. Their names."

"I'm honestly stumped. They're special, I know. They need special names."

"I know, I know, I just… Do you want me to name them?"

"Heavens Jack, I just- What?"

"Do you want me to name them?"

"...Really?"

"Of course! What about...Tenta and Tek?"

"...Tentatek…? ...Like the company?"

"Is that a no?"

"...We'll talk about it later."

"...Right. But Maria?"

"Yes Jack?"

"Will you give the names some thought?"

"..."

 **Splat X: Separation**

 **Tek-nical Difficulties**

Tek tenderly flipped the page of her manga book forward. Her legs dangled off above the abyss below. She squinted down at the pages and flipped forward. Then flipped forward again. With a resigned sigh, she placed it down in her lap, and gazed upwards at the ceiling. She hummed to herself as she pushed a solitary tentacle out from her face. It dangled off of her head like a ribbon.

Tek stood up and brushed off her Octoling Armor chestplate and surveyed the immediate area. She peered ahead into the darkness. She squinted. More darkness. Tek took a step forward. Still nothing but darkness.

Tek glowered down at the large pillar she stood upon in frustration. She bit her lip and carefully tried as hard as possible to amble forward without falling to her doom. A sudden vibration shook her pillar slightly. Crouching down low as the tremor went on, she cursed almost silently, gripping the platform embarrassedly.

She shook her head. "I appreciate that. Thanks." Tek shouted out into the dark.

Tek walked over towards the side of the great pillar and glanced down. No matter how hard she might try there was no peering through the thick layer of darkness. It seemed as though the pit below her could extend forever. Tek gazed across the endless chasm solemnly forwards. Through the extreme darkness she noticed another pillar poke out of the ground.

Before she could do a thing she heard a knocking noise echo from across the enormous room and a voice follow. "H-Hey! Octavio's calling for you! You'd better get out here...pronto!"

Swift footsteps faded off into the background. Tek shook her head and walked a short step back. At the back edge of her own platform she crouched in a position befitting of a marathon sprinter. She took off with a sprint the same and pushed off the pillar with the tip of her boots. She sailed across towards the room and landed on the other side semi-gracefully with her hand planted on the platform and her legs stamped down to the pillar side.

Tek shook off the landing without a sweat and gazed across the room. She squinted again, the darkness still obscuring her vision a smidge, managing to make out the familiar outline of metal arranged in the fashion of a door. Once again, she hopped back towards the edge of the platform, crouched low, and started for the door.

Jerry floated around nervously. His propellers fluttered shakily and his tentacle body and his metal stick legs dangled from the metal cap and propeller set holding him aloft. He gazed at the metal door with a gulp.

" _Why does it always have to be me?"_ Jerry thought hopelessly as he floated around. His fuchsia tentacle of a body sagged. _"I'm just an Octocopter…"_

He gazed at the large, foreboding metal door, and shivered. Jerry's metal propellers spun slower and slower until eventually he found himself stationed on the ground. His thin metal legs stood for a moment then instantly gave way to the ground.

" _Get it together Jer."_ Jerry mentally slapped himself and spun back skywards. _"She's just an Octoling."_ He cleared his...throat, spun back up, and called to the door, "Hey-"

The door rapidly retreated upwards into its door frame. Jerry squeaked, hovered away across the hall, and hid behind a corner. Although to say he "hid" was somewhat of an overstatement. Try as he might, Jerry was not small enough, and only managed to conceal the bulk of his tail. His face stuck out like a sore thumb.

Tek stepped out into the artificial light of the hall and paused. She gazed down the hall and frowned at the Octocopter. "What's going on?"

Jerry gulped and attempted to mentally reassure himself that, again, she was just another regular Octoling. Two long tentacles stretched in front of her face like unusual snakes. Her "default" octopus tentacles stretched behind her head alien to her frontal tentacles. Most peculiar of all were her eyes. Though the familiar triangles stretched off her eyelids so did the worryingly black line that bridged her eyes and nose together like a mask.

Jerry fluttered up to her reluctantly. "...Tenta right?"

She brushed off her red vest. "Tek."

Jerry blinked nervously, his propellers slowed, "Right," he gulped and trembled, "O-Octavio sent me. It's about your sister."

Tek fixed her eyes irritably on the smaller octopus. "What about her?"

"She's screwing around in the lab again." Another voice interrupted.

Tek turned about slowly to her right. A squadron of Octarians glared back at her with one particular Octoling at the head of the squad glowering back at her suspiciously. Although a squad was somewhat of a stretch seeing as there were several Octotroopers stationed cautiously behind the Octoling in a cowering stance as if Tek herself were a nuclear bomb.

The Octoling wore two stalks of seaweed behind her black tentacles. She was garbed in the official ensemble befitting of an elite; a pair of Octoling Goggles meticulously wrapped around her face obscuring her eyes, a steel Octoling Armor chestplate, and a pair of shiny Octoling Boots. She was the pinnacle of classic intimidating Octoling stature.

Tek might have found her more intimidating if she was somewhat taller than Tek's torso. Of course that might have been impossible considering Tek herself towered over the rest of the Octarians peculiarly like a sore thumb.

"Commander Aussie." Tek regarded the Octoling coldly.

The Octoling's goggles flashed underneath her black tentacles, "4U55-13," She corrected her with a scowl. "Although you did at least manage to get commander correct."

"You said something about my sister." A subtle hint of a smile creeped up Tek's expression. "Having trouble containing her?"

Aussie crossed her arms. "Hardly. Octavio sent me." Tek's smile shrunk back into a scowl. "He wants you to help settle her down."

"So you are having trouble containing her." Tek spoke drily and turned around indignantly. "Well good luck with that."

"Should I remind you of your current situation?" Aussie inquired. "Octavio's word is law as long as you're still with us."

"Well quite frankly commander," Tek shook her head, "His laws don't matter to me in the slightest."

Aussie's tentacles twitched very slightly. Before she could reprimand the woman, another tremor rocked the hallways. Unbalanced, the Octarian entourage wobbled unsteadily, and the lot of them grasped for the walls to anchor themselves. Aussie stumbled as did Tek on their two legs as she opened the door to her room. Tek gritted her teeth as she was nearly flung into the abyss below inside of the inky darkness of her room. After a moment the tremor subsided and left a handful of dazed octopuses sprawled out about the halls.

Tek gripped the door frame and pulled herself out of the room and snapped her head towards Aussie who was subsequently startled by the sudden movement. "...Tenta is where exactly?"

Aussie sighed and shook her head. "Takes everything shy of the void before I can convince anyone to volunteer to…" She noticed the impatient expression on Tek's face. "Follow me. Hopefully you'll be able to stop her."

"Right." Tek placed her hands on her hips. "I assume that was her handiwork?"

Aussie simply nodded. "Let's go. Jerry, are you coming?"

The Octocopter in the hall hovered up from his hiding spot. "...S-Sure."

"Good." Aussie nodded. "If we hurry we might not have to spare too much for damages."

Even with the accompanying party of an Octoling commander, an Octocopter named Jerry, and a battalion of Octotroopers on weaponized platforms trudging behind Tek found herself stuck as the center of attention throughout the trip through the headquarters. As they passed through a labyrinth of winding hallways Tek received quite a few odd stares.

She stared at a small troop of Octolings with tentacles ranging from fuchsia to violet laughing amongst each other as they leaned on the walls. For a brief moment, they noticed Tek walk past, and the laughter died down almost immediately. They glanced around absentmindedly and spoke in whispers.

"Don't you all have a training regimen to follow?" Aussie inquired rhetorically.

The gang of Octolings simply shuffled off elsewhere. They brushed past the squad escorting them awkwardly and mumbled all the way.

"The way you carry yourself reminds me more of a general than a commander." Tek observed as they walked.

"Is that a compliment?" Aussie asked as she filed back in with the rest of the squad.

"Take it as you will." Tek stated simply as they walked ahead.

Jerry hovered in to Tek's eye level. "She's one of our finest! Not exactly the strictest, but-"

"Jerry, please." Aussie waved the Octocopter off. "Maybe you could fly ahead and survey the damage."

"Did I say something wrong?" Jerry asked with a frown as he reluctantly hovered ahead.

"It's fine...just check on the hangar." Aussie waved him off yet again much to Jerry's discontent. As the Octotrooper slowly hovered off away Aussie turned to Tek. "You were saying?"

"Hmm." Tek hummed and glanced around. "You didn't need to do that for me."

"Oh, no, that wasn't strictly for your sake." Aussie shook her head. "Someone needs to keep order around here. As for being commander, no one around here seems to acknowledge titles anyways…" She crossed her arms. "...Wish more of my comrades were like you."

"Like me?" Tek quizzed the Octoling.

"Uniform, much more agreeable, less aggravating…" Aussie paused and sighed. "The more I go on the more I feel as though I have an Inkling running amuck the headquarters."

Tek glanced at her own tentacles and felt the two extending in front of her face. Aussie blinked and glanced up at the taller woman.

"Well, more like an Inkling mentally than physically anyways." Aussie remarked.

The lot of them continued through the halls. Jerry hovered at the very ends of the halls and they followed behind as he "scouted" ahead. Occasionally when the halls were empty and almost silent altogether they could hear sighs and grumbles up ahead as the Octocopter veered around a corner.

"Any ulterior motive for sending the helicopter away?" Tek asked.

"No reason." Aussie shook her head quickly. "...He's just a little overbearing sometimes."

"...And them?" Tek gestured towards the Octotroopers around them.

"We're just generic filler troops." One of them spoke up.

Tek simply nodded in affirmation and the rest of the way was spent in complete silence. As they began to near what must have been the end of the hallways a thumping noise started to repeat and grow in volume as they approached. Jerry slowed in place in front of a ginormous steel door and stopped midair in front of it.

"Here we are!" He called towards the rest of them as they walked closer.

"Alright." Aussie snapped her fingers and pointed towards the door. "Get in there."

The Octotroopers behind her hopped to it. "Yes ma'am!"

They all rolled past her on their platforms and rushed past as the doors opened. For a brief moment the sound of clanging and roaring exploded out of the opening. All of a sudden, the Octotroopers paused and gazed in for a brief second, and all of a sudden they performed the standard one-eighty movement and bolted away.

"Hey!" Aussie shouted back at them.

"We're generic, but we're not suicidal!" They called back as they traveled down the hallway.

"See! This is exactly what I was talking about!" Aussie scowled and shook her head.

"Don't worry." Tek rested her hand on the Octoling's shoulder. "I'll handle this."

"...Thanks." Aussie sighed gratefully. She glanced up at her. "...By yourself?"

Tek simply brushed past her and stood in front of the door. With a sigh, Aussie gestured for Jerry, the Octocopter slowly hovering back over towards her with an inquisitive expression on his face. The two of them walked off. Tek could hear her name being mentioned in the conversation as soon as the left. Shaking her head she refocused on the set of doors again. The door opened in but a blink of an eye. When Tek stopped blinking, she glanced in, and frowned at the sight.

The hangar was humongous. Several flights of stairs connected above the just as humongous door frame Tek stood inside. Several mechanical projects laid strewn about with catwalks and balconies overlooking them as Octolings in clean lab coats or rags dirtied with soot and oil crowded about them. Unfortunately for these select cephalopod scientists it was hardly a feasible area for research given the gigantic skeleton.

Some nightmarishly ginormous mechanical monstrosity lumbered around on a set of four mechanical tentacles. The tentacles were unfinished to say the least, with wires sparking and jutting out from the project, and loose panels swinging off as the tentacles slipped and slid about the metallic floor. The tentacles led up to a head, which in reality, was a deteriorated top with a rather enthusiastic pilot at the helm. The pilot could be heard giggling from the cockpit like a madwoman. She turned and swayed with nothing but a barebones control panel at the helm with two comically simple levers to control the machine with.

"Gangway!" She cried out as one of the tentacles smashed into the floor and splintered it. Octolings nearby crouched with their hands over their head for cover.

Her appearance was scraggly and ragged similar to her machine. A red mop of Octarian tentacles rolled off of the back of her head, but in the front, two elongated tentacles danced rampantly in the air as she twirled about on the death machine. She had on a regular pair of Octoling equipment like the commander except for the standard Octoling Goggles. Not as if it mattered, as her eyes glowed with a dangerous light similar to a bonfire growing into an uncontrollable forest fire.

Needless to say the Octolings around her were not taking her shenanigans as gleefully as she was. A tentacle flew overhead and nearly decapitated a scientist as she ducked for cover. Several mechanics laid unconscious on the floor facedown with puddles of oil and ink mixed in a dark-violet pool.

Tek glared up at the machine. "Tenta."

As her name was uttered, the pilot froze as did her machine. She turned her head down at Tek with a ginormous smirk. The tentacles stopped trying to wreck the hanger and positioned themselves in a pool-like mess on the floor. The machine steamed and groaned as it slid across the floor towards the door frame at an alarmingly fast pace. As the prototype slowed to a pause, the pilot popped her head out from behind the control panel, and smiled.

"You finally came out! Hey!" Tenta beamed at her wickedly. "Nice to see you Ms. Bossypants! Wanna help my test flight?"

"...Tenta." Tek glowered back at her. "Stop shaking the HQ."

"Eh! Side effects dear sister!" Tenta smiled down at her. "With every action there is an equal and opposite reaction! So the base is a getting a little shaken-"

"I told you not to mess with the technology while we're here." Tek scolded her. "We have our plans. We don't need more unnecessary complications."

"...So?" Tenta shrugged her shoulders. "You think I'm gonna pass up these babies?" She raised the levers again and the machine shuddered beneath her feet. "These Octoweapons are amazing. They could raze a city in a day!"

"Tenta. Last chance. Stop playing around and get off of the machine." Tek narrowed her eyes at Tenta.

Her sister glared at her back. The both of them had a silent standoff in the middle of the hangar bay glaring at each other. The other Octolings peeked over the other projects and hangar catwalks in anticipation.

Suddenly there came a titter. "Hm." Tenta smiled. "Heh." She laughed. "Ha!"

"What?" Tek demanded with a scowl.

"You're a lot of things to me Tek." Tenta grinned down at her. "You're my sister for one. Always 'looking out for me'. You're also a pain."

Tek's expression darkened. "A pain?"

"You might be a lot of things. But you can't tell me what to do." Tenta smiled. "You're not my mum."

Tek stepped forward. On the very same second Tek slammed the levers forward. As if a ripple of tension had billowed out, the Octoling bystanders hit the deck, and the ragtag machine buzzed and whirred sickly.

"You want me to stop? Then go ahead and stop me sister!" Tenta laughed uncontrollably.

* * *

AN: Here's that Splat X spin-off story. Sorry it took so long!

Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, see you!


	2. Altercation - The Prototype Run

**Splat X Separation**

 **The Prototype Run**

"Look at them…" Maria cooed down at the tiny orbs in her lap. They trembled in their vibrant shells.

Jack smirked down at her. "You did a good job with them."

Maria furrowed her brow and glared up at Jack. "...Really?"

Jack flinched and wrapped his arm behind his neck sheepishly. "What did I say now?"

"'Good work', Jack?" Maria sighed and wrapped her arm around his shoulder as she sat. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Er…" Jack rubbed his neck.

Maria sighed and rested her head on his chest. "You're hopeless."

"I'd like to think that I did my part well." Jack winked down at her.

"Oh Jack, stop." Maria laughed and waved him off.

"But you weren't too bad either you know." Jack breathed huskily.

"Jack…" Maria frowned down.

"I'm just saying." Jack leaned over her. "You-"

"JACK!" Maria gasped and clasped her hands over her face self-consciously.

"Too far?" Jack shrunk in embarrassment. "

"No, no, I mean, well...!" Maria squealed with excitement and caused him to jump up. "Look at them! Tenta and Tek…"

The orbs in Maria's lap shivered and stirred. For a short moment, they rolled aimlessly about her lap, then converged and bumped into one another.

"Eeee!" She squealed again in excitement. "They're already so close to hatching!"

"...You kept the names for them." Jack commented with a blink.

"Of course." She wrapped her arm around Jack's neck and pecked him on the cheek. "I couldn't think of any other fitting."

Jack blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, uh, thanks."

Maria turned back to the pair of multicolored orbs as they rolled into each other of their own accord repeatedly. "Aw." She smiled warmly at the spheres. "Something tells me they're going to be great friends, too."

* * *

Tek narrowly ducked beneath the incoming tentacle as it drilled into the wall behind her and leaped out to the side. The hangar wall splintered and sparked as the tentacle ripped itself out of the white paneling. It shook itself free of debris and snaked back towards its swift target.

"Ahahaha! Are you enjoying this game of TAG sister?!" Tenta cried out with glee.

" _I'll enjoy knocking you off that failure of a machine."_ Tek hissed at her sister mentally.

Tek was a blur, leaping to and fro across several mechanical projects, dodging the gigantic tentacles as the whirled past and laid waste to anything unfortunate enough to stay put. Tek flinched as a particularly swift tentacle caught an unfortunate scientist off-guard and watched as she was flung up into the air unsuspectingly. There was a scream and a thud seconds after.

Seconds after that, there came a resounding, "Ouch! Jerk," from the sidelines.

For a split second, Tek managed to sigh in relief at the reassuring yet angry sound of survival, then reminded herself to keep moving after seeing a tentacle disembowel what appeared to be an experimental battle tank. The tank shuddered and sputtered and finally exploded into several fragments of gears and plates of metal.

Tek cursed as a tentacle swept across and dragged its frayed wires across the floor. _"How did she manage to get the green light for this in the first place?!"_ She leaped backwards and dived behind a fallen tank cannon now detached from the main vehicle.

Tek gasped for breath as the tentacles continued to rampage about. If the sound of screaming and tearing was any indication it meant that Tenta was not selective about what victims she would choose.

Tek pressed her fingers to her chin. _"That thing is quick."_

She snuck a quick glance at the floor. Spying a discarded fragment of metal, Tek reached for it, picked it off the ground, and hurled it over the tank cannon. Not a second passed before a distinct "clank" sounded out from behind the cannon and the shard of metal boomeranged back and stuck into the metal floor. This time it was in halves.

" _Too quick."_ She noted mentally.

As Tek sat deep in thought as the metal monster maliciously mangled everything within scraping range she felt something grace her side. Alarmed by the cold touch, she whirled around, gripped one of the shards, and raised it high to stab. She was taken aback by the shrill scream that responded.

An Octoling scientist with her hands raised defensively in front of her face cowered under the glare of the metal. "No, please!"

"Hey, hey, shh!" Tek let the shard clatter to the ground and clamped a hand over her mouth. She struggled for a moment until Tek leaned in close and whispered urgently, "Shut up. She'll hear you."

As Tek felt her hot breath pant back she let go of her mouth. "Haa…" The scientist wheezed repeatedly and fanned her face. "Oh Cod I knew I should've taken a sick day…"

"Quiet!" Tek demanded as she peeked over the side of the cannon.

Another scientist flew over the side of the cannon and smacked into what appeared to be a UFO and fell ungracefully to the ground with a thud and a groan. After that, Tek's cannon buddy clammed up, but continued to shake and shudder frightfully regardless.

As an explosion rocked the room and spilled debris over the side of the cannon Tek glared at the scientist who stared back terrified. "What is that thing she's riding?"

"H-Huh?" The scientist gulped.

"The machine." Tek clarified urgently. "How do we stop it?"

"I...we…" She twiddled her fingers nervously.

Tek leaned in close. Her eyes glinted dangerously. "Answer me."

"I have no idea!" She stammered shivered.

Tek glared at her incredulously as another explosion rang out as well as the blare of the alarms. "How?!"

"W-We never gave her authorization." The scientist explained, not before she adjusted the clear glasses on her face of course, and adjusted her coat. "I mean, they didn't…"

"'They'?" Tek demanded all while the scraping of metal against metal started to increase in frequency.

"I'm new here!" The scientist cried out. "I don't get to make the decisions!"

"Okay, okay, fine." Tek peeked over the cannon again. "How did they let her sneak that thing in here in the first place?"

"That's just the thing!" The scientist proclaimed morosely. "She...didn't."

"...So…" Tek arched an eyebrow at her.

"She built it herself!" The scientist explained. "With scrap...that we gave her."

The scientist flinched at the expression on Tek's face. Her eyes were wide open and her arms were slack at her side in shock.

"...By herself?" Tek asked to which the scientist nodded dutifully. "She's getting better…"

A tentacle slammed dangerously close to the tank cannon and shook the ground. For a split second the cannon buzzed and whirred weakly before the nozzle fell back on the ground with a sputter. Tek glanced at the cannon suspiciously then back to the scientist.

"What's this then?" She asked and tapped the cannon with the back of her knuckle.

"This…?" The scientist squinted for a moment. After a second her eyes lit up. "Oh! My project! This is-"

The cannon sputtered again.

"...This was supposed to be the Mobile Octoling Affiliated Ink Cannon! M.O.A.I.C." She stated and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Something that might give us Octarians an edge over the Inklings...It was supposed to be my entry ticket into the army…"

Tek frowned down at her as she sunk into her lap. She glanced at the machine. "...And it's no longer functional?"

"I doubt it would be…" The scientist frowned and shut her eyes. "It was still in the development phase...it only managed to fire out one burst before the wheels were destroyed. I wanted to get another set but-"

A whirlwind of tentacles and laughter spun by the ruined cannon. For a second Tek spotted small droplets of fuchsia threaten to spill out from behind the glasses. Tek's expression hardened. She glanced over towards the cannon muzzle that laid across the ground.

Tek stood up straight. "So it can't fire anything at all?"

The scientist wiped beneath her eyes. "N-No, it can fire, but…" Her eyes shot open. "You can't be serious."

Staring down at the gigantic silver cylinder, Tek gave it an experimental push, and acknowledged its heavy weight. She glanced at the scientist. "Can you help me with this?"

The scientist clamped her hands over her own mouth. "Mmm?!"

Another sizable tremor rang out from the chaos. The cannon shuddered violently as did anyone conscious or otherwise within the hangar. The scientist ogled at her own creation and shivered.

"...At the angle it's at…" She glanced at the cannon, past it, and towards Tenta as she rampaged. "It can be fired. I can't guarantee its accuracy."

"Fine." Tek nodded and walked out of the cover of the cannon.

The scientist stood rigidly and breathed raggedly out of anticipation as Tek circled around the weapon. Picking up the discarded shard of metal again, Tek carried it by her side, and dashed towards the tornado of tentacle flurries ahead of her. Behind the odd-looking Octoling the self-conscious scientist poked her head over the side of the turret.

"Tenta." Tek muttered and hefted the shard over her head.

All of a sudden the machine's rampage paused. On top of the machine Tenta spun around to the sound of the voice.

"Yes?" She smiled gleefully.

The metal shard split the right side of her lip as it sailed past her face. She gasped and slapped one of her hands to her face as the scientist stared in awe.

Just as quickly as she had been assaulted, Tenta coiled her head back, and smiled again as an ooze of fuchsia dripped from her mouth. "We're playing catch now, are we?"

"...Sure." Tek crouched low and opened up her hands as if they were claws.

"Oh, how I adore this so!" Tenta laughed and pushed a lever forward. "It's my turn now, sister."

One tentacle suspended itself above the machine itself. The end of the tentacle was torn and unfinished with a heap of wires splayed and ready to shock at a moment's notice. The lever immediately shifted down in a flash, and the tentacle snapped forward. Tek leapt to her side as the tentacle slammed into the floor and sparked violently. It swerved about the ground and continued to shower sparks to and fro.

With a cheerful bob of her head, Tenta pulled down another lever swiftly, and correspondingly another tentacle launched out at her sister. Tek cursed, ducked back, and narrowly avoided the appendage as it scraped past her chestplate and tore at the metallic surface. Before she could hope to catch a rest, another slammed on the floor besides her, and a third one caught her in the gut.

"Guh!" Tek coughed and rolled to the ground.

A particularly small tentacle with a barbed tip snaked away from her victim and back into the underside of the machine. Atop the literal death metal Tenta shook her head down at her sister.

"You were supposed to catch it!" Tenta complained and pouted.

Tek shot a glare in the other direction. Luckily for her it seemed as though the scientist did not waste time. Tek saw a white lab coat flap by into the cockpit within the turret.

Unfortunately for Tek, Tenta seemed to notice, and another sadistic smile crept up on her face. "Oh?"

The tentacle pulled out of Tek's side and left her on the floor with a gash in her side. With grit teeth and one hand at her side she limped away with a careful eye on the cannon.

"There's no hiding from me there!" Tenta chided the scientist as a tentacle snaked towards the inside.

Gingerly lifting the cannon off of the floor as if it were nothing but a paperweight Tenta's machine dragged it up and off the floor. The scientist's legs dangled from the turret as she and her creation was suspended upside-down.

The machine and Tenta's head tilted simultaneously. "Hello."

"Hi." The scientist squeaked back.

"Don't be a spoiler now." Tenta leered at her. "Did you really want to shoot me?"

The scientist gulped. "...Noooooo? I just left my..." She reached at her face with one hand as she hanged with the other. "Glasses...inside."

"Oh…" Tenta leaned in close. "That's a silly lie to tell me. If you had made me laugh then maybe I would have spared you."

All of a sudden her head jerked back as did the machine. Tenta made a strangled gurgling noise and reached at her throat. The scientist gasped and noticed a pair of hands tightly gripped around her throat.

Tek poked out from behind her sister. "Shoot the machine!"

"No! DON'T shoot the machine and I won't kill you!" Tenta shouted back. "Probably."

Before anything else could be said, the scientist reached back into the turret, peered down, and shut her eyes. In a matter of seconds, the turret cannon buzzed to life and flashed, the cannon nozzle falling and subsequently aiming at the sisters.

"NO!" Tenta screamed in frustration.

The cannon's nozzle exploded and a strong burst of ink fired out and drilled a hole into the octopus-like mech. A plume of smoke and a sickening sizzling sound emanated from within the machine, and in the span of a blink of an eye, the machine flashed and exploded in a burst of metal, ink, and smoke.

* * *

Aussie dashed down the hallway with an Octoshot in her right hand as the alarm reverberated throughout the base. Behind her a platoon of Octotroopers on their metal mounts zoomed behind her. Tanks of clear and cool liquid washed back and forth in a cylinder attached to their platforms.

Jerry the Octocopter flew side by side with Aussie as she ran and carried a shiny red fire extinguisher as best as he could with his stick-like legs. "Gosh!" He mumbled as he fumbled with the nozzle.

As they turned a corner, Aussie pushed off the wall, and dashed down the hall towards a large set of doors in the distance. _"Cod. Who knows how much damage she's done by now."_ She turned around to her accompanying squadron and shouted, "Pick up the pace! We cannot let the weapon projects be further compromised!"

The Octotroopers nodded in response and began to scuttle as quickly as they could with their metal platforms. After a minute of fiddling with his lack of hands Jerry finally managed to point the nozzle ahead.

Jerry glanced down at Aussie nervously. "Do you think that the water will be enough?"

Aussie bit her lip and gazed ahead. Sounds and trembling rocked the halls. "...If she couldn't do it…"

The Octocopter's face went pale.

As they approached the set of doors, a large dent appeared in the both of the steel barricades. The Octotroopers flinched but continued to trudge ahead as Aussie raised her Octoshot, the entirety of them preparing for the worse.

"Aaaagh!" Screamed Tenta as she and her sister were flung into the halls.

Instinctively the Octotroopers' weaponized cannons on the bottoms of their platforms rose and aimed for the threat. Aussie's eyes widened, rose her arm, and whistled as loud as she could muster.

"Don't shoot!" She called out.

The two laid sprawled out on the floor with soot which coated their faces with a dark hue. As soon as they stopped flying through the halls, the both of them coughing and gasping for breath on the ground. Aussie raised an open palm in the air and the Octotroopers stood behind her vigilantly.

Curiously Aussie walked up to the two of them and glared down. "...Tek?"

One of the injured hybrid Octolings coughed and stared up at her. "...My K.R.A.K.E.N…" Her eyes rolled back up into her head and she promptly fell back.

"Tenta." Aussie corrected herself and glanced at the other one. "...Is it destroyed?"

"...Hopefully." Tek groaned and pushed herself up off the floor shakily with one hand on her side.

Aussie walked up to Tek and offered her shoulder. Tek gladly obliged and nearly collapsed on top of the smaller Octoling. Aussie turned around with the injured hero practically stuck on her back and whistled again. The Octarians rushed past her like a river of octopuses and flooded into the hangar.

Aussie glanced up at Tek who managed to acknowledge her with a delirious nod. The commander sighed and pushed forward. "Alright. I hate to break it to you, but Octavio wants to talk to you."

Tek coughed up a glob of ink. "What?!"

"Easy!" Aussie commanded in turn. "We're not just going to hurl you in his office and expect the best in your condition. We'll find some aid then-"

Before she could finish Aussie felt the full weight of Tek slump across her back. She grunted and nearly fell under her weight.

"Urgh!" Aussie tried to whistle. "A little help?!"

The only accompanying sound was the alarm and the faint sound of water spraying in the distance. Aussie glanced back towards the hangar and was only further disappointed as she noticed the unconscious Tenta also sprawled out on the floor.

Underneath her Octoling Goggles Aussie's eyes twitched. "'Yes ma'am commander, we're on it!' Ugh." She shook her head and dragged herself and Tek over across the hall.

* * *

Tek awoke to darkness. She lifted her head slowly, but exercised caution as to not stir the sudden pain in her side. For one moment she wondered whether or not she was back in her room, and also wondered whether or not she would plummet if she tried to stand up.

Suddenly the lights flashed on. Tek blinked steadily and fixed her blurry vision on a shape in the distance. Though a smudge in her eyes, after a while

The violet octopus crossed his tentacles together and glared at her with neon green eyes. "If it isn't the troublemaker herself. If your sister didn't step in when she did you would've been mashed-up by your's truly."

Though half-conscious, Tek could make out the sound of someone whispering.

Octavio frowned. "...Wrong one?" The octopus had a blank stare for a moment until all of a sudden he burst into raucous laughter. "Haha! That's a new one!" He turned his attention back to Tek. "Sorry. You're the crazy one's sister, right?"

Tek sighed and nodded. "Sure."

"Great!" Octavio laughed again. "Confusing, but great!"

Tek leaned up and attempted to say something. The pain in her side resulted in her crying out into Octavio's face and promptly fell back.

Octavio's scar on his left tentacle glowed a faint green as Tek slowly began to drift back into unconsciousness. "...Er? Hey. Stay with me, girl."

Her eyes shut and Tek felt herself lose all senses.

"Ship." Octavio muttered under his breath. "...Probably should've waited for her to stop bleeding."

* * *

AN: Out of all the Splat X characters I'd have to say I enjoy Ix, Treble, and the Octo-Inkling duo the most. Not a huge fan of Mysteeri but I do like how Dread's writing her as a prominent protagonist alongside other fan characters.

Of course quite a couple of you might not know who I'm talking about, but that's for you to find out. I'd like to point out that if you don't really feel like you know the characters too well that Dread Angel's Splat X stories and his blog on tumblr are pretty good sources to check.

Back to answering reviews. Haven't done this in at least eons. Buying Breath of the Wild really hurts productivity.

Thanks Dread Angel, Darkstar248, Deku Scrublord, and Tricky Jebus for reviewing.

(Wonder what piqued all this interest. Can't tell if people like Splat X or are just shocked I've updated an entirely different story.)

I'm glad that I could sort of represent Splat X as well as I could, Dread. I'm looking forward to whatever plans you have next.

I appreciate the dedicated reading Darkstar. It's nice knowing someone enjoys reading these.

It's nice seeing you back in the land of slow updates Deku Scrublord! Although this is the second story you've had to deal with where the characters belong from another story altogether...Regardless it is nice to see you like it.

TrickyJebus, I believe that for every series of stories there can always be more. Obviously that shouldn't be the case all the time because people will get tired of it and the formula can only go so far, but still, it's always nice to experiment with other people's characters and stories. Maybe someday someone will write a story for you.

Also I think I'm to blame for jeopardizing my stories.

Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, see you.


	3. Extrication - Unrestrained

**Splat X Separation**

 **Unrestrained**

"Hmm…" Maria hummed as she stared down at her lap.

The two vibrant eggs continued to roll in place atop her lap. For quite some time, the eggs bounced off of one another as if they were riding in bumper carts. She watched them while biting her bottom lip, her hands pressed against her own lap nervously like two barricades. Every so often they rolled and bumped into each other, and she had to step in as to prevent an unfortunate bounce to their untimely doom. While they bounced, as if drawn in a whirlpool, they swirled in the same pattern back and forth, in their own mysterious little rhythm. Small trails and spots of blue and green swirled about her pants as they went, but conveniently vanished but a few moments after.

She was so lost in the hypnotic rhythm of the orbs rolling on her lap that she hardly noticed Jack's smiling face behind her.

Jack attempted to greet her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey-"

"Eek!" She squeaked, snatched the colorful eggs up, and held them close to her chest.

As a precautionary measure to her involuntary reaction, she also involuntarily whipped her hand at Jack, slapping him straight across the cheek. Her hand was an explosion across her husband's face, and cracked a sound as if it were a whip. Her eyes expanded in shock, and Maria's face tinted a bright light-green out of embarrassment whereas Jack's glowed a bruised gray.

As a sizzling sound emanated from his cheek, Jack reached up and began to massage his face. "Easy there, Agent 3. You're not in Octo Valley anymore." He sucked air through his teeth as he rubbed. "That smarts…"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Sneak-Up-On-His-Wife." Maria pouted mockingly, lifted her head to deliver a smooch to the disaster area on her husband's face, then placed the eggs back in her lap. She then cupped his face in between her hands. "Maybe I should tag a bell to your shirt. Think that'll help?"

"Maybe," Jack commented, took her arms off his face, and into his own hands, "Or maybe you need to learn to let your guard down a little every now and then."

"Rich coming from you, soldier boy," She muttered with a roll of her eyes as she leaned in towards his face.

Before they could lock lips, Maria froze, and clamped one hand on Jack's face. As he yelped in surprise, Maria reached down to her lap and precariously scooped up the pair of eggs again as they rolled towards the edge.

"Phew," Maria sighed and nuzzled the two eggs, "That was close."

"...Uh huh," Jack muttered grudgingly as he felt his face grow hot underneath the two hands stuck to his face.

Maria glanced back up at him slowly with her eggs safely tucked between her arms, and with a bead of light-green sweat on her forehead, perked up suddenly. She snorted, then pressed a hand to her lips, her eggs secured by her arms

"Oh, mmfff," She laughed good-naturedly, "I'm sorry, Jack!"

"'Sorry' won't cut it anymore Maria." Jack's eyelids lowered as he wrapped one arm around her and pulled her in close.

Her eyebrow cocked up suspiciously as a coy smile popped up on his face. "What do you have planned now?"

"First things first, are the kids secured?" Jack inquired through his half-lidded expression.

Maria hugged her eggs ever so slightly tighter. "Seriously Jack, what are you- Ooh!"

She let out a squeak as she felt herself rise. Maria gazed down at Jack, and he simply smiled back with the goofiest grin he could manage as he spun her about in his arms. Throughout the whirling, Maria simply rolled her eyes and continued to cradle the eggs carefully in her arms.

"There," Jack announced proudly, "You hold the eggs, and I can focus being intimate," He breathed huskily.

"I could've just set them down somewhere." Maria frowned down at him.

"Heh. I wouldn't miss this for the world, and these two rascals aren't going to do anything about it," Jack responded with a grin towards the eggs.

Regardless of the peculiar position, the two of them began to lean in towards one another, Maria keeping her arms tightly wrapped around the orbs. As they approached one another, out of the corner of their eyes, they noticed something wriggle. The both of them froze suddenly and gazed down at the eggs cautiously. They shivered as they sat in between Maria's arms.

"...Did you see that?" Maria glared down at her eggs.

All of a sudden the eggs shook. One of them pushed outwards from her grasp and slipped out between her arms, secreting clear trails as it rolled out. Maria gasped in horror and reached out as it tumbled out from her arms and careened down towards the harsh floor below.

* * *

"Nngh!" Tek grunted as her face and metal had an impromptu meeting.

"Oh, hey..." A voice called out to her in a tired tone.

Tek muttered a string of curses into the floor as she attempted to stand upwards. The metal naturally did not care about her injuries and remained silent under her colorful language. An aching shock rocked through her back as she pushed downwards even as gingerly as she could manage. Through fluttering eyelids, Tek could make out a few beads of color drip across her vision. As she gasped for breath, she pushed against the floor with her elbow in an attempt to keep herself up.

Drops of violet leaked from her abdomen from underneath a short white bandage, which stung as she arched her body. Her arms felt as though gravity had increased, buckling as her vision blurred. Though everything seemed to spin and the colors blended together in an incomprehensible mess, she shut her eyes and sighed in relief.

"...You alright there, sunshine?" Tek felt someone nudge her cheek.

With a growl, Tek gripped the offending person, and pulled down the offender close to her face while her vision gradually smoothed. "It hurts."

Tek squinted her eyes. Judging by the violet on top of the talking black and gray splotch, she assumed that she had grabbed an Octarian. Slowly but surely, her vision cleared somewhat, and lo and behold the splotch revealed itself to be an Octoling. Gripped in Tek's right hand was the Octoling's own gloved hand, casually wriggling its bare fingers back at her.

The violet-eyed Octoling troop she came face to face with solely blinked, and shrugged nonchalantly. "Uh-huh. I figured it might. That's a lotta ink you're losing."

"Help me up." Tek commanded with a growl as she felt herself fall towards the floor again, bracing herself with her left elbow.

The other Octoling simply stared back at her silently. Tek did the same, her eyes narrowing into a harsh glare. As if the look traveled straight through her, the Octoling just stared back as indifferently as a brick wall.

"...Please." She asked the other Octoling with a sigh.

"'Kay." The Octoling yawned, reached down, and pulled Tek's right hand up.

Carefully, Tek got to her feet while her abdomen ached. With a grunt, she lifted up with the smaller Octoling in front of her pulling her up as well. She glanced around the room as she stood, spying counters stocked with vials, and a bed stained with blue-violet ink. Tek cursed quietly under her breath, glaring down at her own hand stained with the very same sickly fluid.

"Damn it. She got me…" Tek cursed more audibly, her hand balling up into a fist.

"...'Dam it'?" The other Octoling arched an eyebrow. "Huh. That a foreign term?" She folded her hands together and placed them on her hips. "Dōiu imidesu ka?"

The room was completely silent for a minute. Once that single minute passed a small drop of ink dropped from Tek again and broke the silence with a drip.

"...What?" Tek squinted quizzically at the other Octoling.

"Yeah, I dunno either." The Octoling shrugged her shoulders, and placed her hands back on her hip. "You've got real flipping flat reactions, lady."

Tek glared upwards towards the other Octarian troop, who absentmindedly fiddled with her metallic goggles haphazardly wrapped around her neck. "...None of you cuss?"

"What do you mean? Yeah we do." The other Octoling remarked with a smug smile. "Sort of like you, just...not as weird."

Tek glared at the Octoling dryly when her eyes lit up in realization, "...You're that same Octoling from the first day." Tek shut her eyes in exasperation. "Just my luck."

"I know, very lucky right?" She winked down at the taller woman bleeding out on the floor. "What are the odds that we'd bump into each other in the same, maze-like, tiny base?"

"...Hmph." Tek grunted and gingerly pushed herself up and off the floor. "Save it. Why are you here?"

"Looking out for you out of the goodness of my sweet little hearts." She pouted, fluttered her Octoling lashes at her, and wrapped her hands together behind her back innocently. "I had to wake up early for you too, aren't you grateful?"

Tek remained silent with a deadpan expression.

"Cool. You're welcome." She grinned and offered Tek her hand. "Well anyways we kinda need to get going."

"And why is that?" Tek squinted her eyes at the Octoling with one hand on her bandages.

The Octoling shrugged. "I dunno. Important orders. I'm in a hurry too, I already missed out on my consecutive twelve hours of sleep, so we gotta go soon. Probably like now."

With a scowl, Tek glimpsed over the Octoling from the floor. Her tentacles sagged over her head in a disorganized mess. Her gloves were somewhat ruffled as if they had been haphazardly put on, the same with her clothes. Tek furrowed her brow and continued to glare up at her for quite some time.

Her tired smile faded after a few moments, and to Tek's surprise, the Octoling yawned with a stretch of her arms. "…Hello? Are you dead? I gotta take you to Octavio or Aussie's gonna kick my bass."

Tek scowled at her, "Your 'bass'."

"Y'know." The Octoling turned around with a cheeky expression. "What connects the legs to the rest of us?"

"...I get the picture." Tek frowned and waved her away with a grumble underneath her breath. "What about my wounds?"

"Oh yeah." The Octoling glanced at the stained bedsheets. "Nothing much we could do."

"So you let me bleed." Tek remarked sourly while she examined the bed.

"Well, no, we wrapped bandages around you y'know." The Octoling emphasized as she spun her finger in a circle. "We just couldn't help you the traditional way, dunking you in a vat of ink. You're… Well, I dunno."

"...No, I get it," Tek muttered and stared down at her wounds, "Great."

"I mean, we could probably get you some ice or sponges or something to help you later." The Octoling shrugged.

Tek frowned and whipped her head towards the troop. "Really? And how would that help?"

"It would help clean, I guess." The Octoling shrugged. "I'm not a doctor, soooo…"

"Ugh." Tek growled and turned back towards the bed.

The otherwise white blankets were darkened with dried blue-violet ink. The Octo-Inkling stared down at her wounds as they leaked through the bandages wrapped about her abdomen. With a scowl, she surveyed the room, one arm pressed lightly against her stomach.

A few standard medical tools were sprawled about on the tables and counters across the room. Most were harmless measuring equipment, such as round stethoscopes and thermometers. Scanning the room diligently, she narrowed her eyes while ignoring the sting of her wounds. After a few seconds of surveying, Tek spied something in the far corner of the room. A small gray tray with a scalpel stacked neatly on top glinted underneath a metallic lamp.

Tek briefly considered her options with a cursory hum. She glanced behind her, the bedside devoid of any other medical equipment. She huffed out a sigh, which unfortunately also stung, and walked over towards the counter.

"Uh, whatcha doin'?" The other Octoling asked with a yawn. "Listen, we gotta-"

Without a word, Tek snatched the scalpel off of the tray, and unraveled the bandages around her guts. Tek winced as she felt the skin around her wound, but continued to retrieve the bandages. With a final tug, the bandages released themselves from her body and collectively coiled to the floor.

For a moment, Tek stared back down at her exposed abdomen. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could barely see the blurred Octoling in the corner as she continued to watch as if she were frozen in place. Tek breathed out, shook her head then shut her eyes, and plunged the scalpel downwards into her stomach.

"...Oh." The Octoling blinked, then in a flash, her tentacles sprung up in shock. "Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?!"

"Faaahh!" Tek gasped out, beads of sweat dripping down from her head, her vital fluids flowing from her pierced abdomen like a waterfall.

The pain surged through her stomach. Eventually, Tek gave in to the excruciating agony, and shouted up to the ceiling as she collapsed to her knees. A pool of violet began to collect around her legs while her Octoling escort continued to watched petrified.

"Oh Cod," She gulped and finally extended two fingers up to the goggles encircled around her neck, "Uh, hey, Aussie? We might have a-"

She cut herself off and watched in a disgusted fascination. Though she bled profusely, Tek managed to grit her teeth through the pain, and sunk to the ground in a fetal position. She laid still for a moment, then shrunk into the ink as if it were quicksand. The pool of ink rippled as she delved inside, droplets of blue and violet splashed across the floor. The Octoling watching flinched and took a step back from the puddle but continued to gape at the surface mesmerized.

The puddle quivered and bubbled almost as if something were brewing. The drops of ink astray from the puddle the hybrid had sunk into dried and lost their dark hues. After a few moments, a head arose from the ink. Her black eyelids closed, she lifted her head from the ink, then her body, lines of goo stretching from her head down to the puddle. The Octoling watched in a mystified awe as Tek arose from the ink, her arms by her side and her eyes still shut.

The Octoling stared at Tek's abdomen. Unfortunately, her red top had not magically regenerated by her mid-section, although the skin underneath her clothes no longer drew any blood to speak of.

"...Whoa." The Octoling blinked once slowly and clamped her mouth close. "That… That was…"

Across from her, Tek groaned and pressed her right hand by her stomach, her eyes still tightly shut. She attempted to stand straight, only to stagger. Tek quickly fell backwards towards a counter. Her elbow bashed the counter, which Tek propped her arm up with. Besides her stomach, her left hand clenched at her abdomen as she braced herself onto the counter with her right hand. As she struggled to stay upright, out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed a very wary smudge step towards cautiously.

Tek tilted her head back at the blurry smudge and grunted. "Help please."

"Wow." The other Octoling gazed at her in awe. "You're completely fine?"

As she stood hunched over clutching her abdomen, Tek gritted her teeth as she glared back at the blurry Octoling. Suddenly, she coughed violently, and a glob of ink flew from her open mouth.

"Whoops," The Octoling muttered as the ink dropped to the floor, "Nope, never mind."

"No," Tek growled back at her and squashed the ink onto the floor irritably, "Clearly I'm not 'completely fine', Octoling. Now. HELP. ME. UP."

The Octoling sighed, and with a deliberately ridiculous shimmy, sauntered towards her side. "If you're going to die on me, might as well remember yours truly's name before you go."

Tek glowered at her. "Just take me to Octavio, Octoling…"

"Tai." The Octoling had on an open-mouthed smile. "My name's Tai."

"Shut the hell up Tai," Tek hissed as she propped her right arm atop Tai's shoulder.

"Aww," Tai cooed back at her with a smug smile on her face, "You're growing on me."

With a giggle, Tai lifted her shoulder up. Though she continued to stagger somewhat, Tek managed to stay glued to the smaller Octoling and continued on with her. Tai smiled sweetly again and began to walk with Tek limping besides her, Tek's head leaning over Tai's shoulder.

* * *

Immediately, Tek wondered whether or not it would have been wiser to stay in bed. As they stepped out of the room, both Tek and Tai had to back up as a platoon of Octarian troops marched on by. Octotroopers rode on platforms with red fire extinguishers taped to the sides, the black nozzles extended to the front of the platform besides the cannon. The platoon rushed forward, clogging the halls completely. After a minute, the hallway was clear, and the sound of hissing, crackling, and shouting in the background filled the empty space.

"Alright, let's go." Tai urged the both of them on out the door frame.

As they stepped outside of the medical bay, a steel door slid down from the top of the frame and shut in place behind them. Red lights flashed about the halls as they walked together with the unmistakable scent of smoke permeating the steel corridor.

"Did I cause this," Tek muttered all of a sudden.

"Huh?" Tai perked up and glanced to her left up at the hybrid.

"Was this my fault?" She frowned upwards at a red alarm light spin back and forth on the ceiling.

Tai glanced behind them, and sniffed the air, her nose wrinkled. "That depends. Can you summon fire?"

"...No." Tek frowned down at the Octoling.

"Alright, then can you shoot a gun," Tai inquired as they strolled along the hall, "Like a really big gun?"

Tek rolled her eyes and heaved out a sigh simultaneously. "So I did cause this."

"Hey, I'm not pointing fingers ma'am, I'm just trying to get down to the meat of this." Tai nudged the hybrid with a smirk. "Could you fire a giant cannon?"

"Oh my God." Tek face-palmed as well as shake her head as the two of them walked away.

"Oh that's so cool." The Octoling beamed brightly.

In the background, the imperceptible orders of the Octarians were screamed over the droning noise of the siren. Somehow it seemed as though the smell of smoke only grew stronger as the time went on, as did the non-stop screaming. Removing her hand from her face, Tek glowered down at the floor, then turned to the right back towards her Octoling escort.

She had a devilishly curious smirk on her face.

Tek narrowed her eyes at the Octoling. "Wipe that smile off your face."

Tai perked up suddenly and glanced to the side. "Uh, what smile?"

Tek stared down at the floor. Even with all the smudges left behind from traffic, the few places untouched by octopus kind were polished to a remarkably high degree. So high in fact, that Tek could see Tai's grin from the floor.

Tek scowled as they continued down the hallway slowly. "Now I see what Commander Aussie was talking about."

"Who, me?" Tai thrust one finger down at herself then pressed down on her chestplate. "Why, I'm flattered!"

"She used 'aggravating' as one of her keywords as a matter of fact." Tek trudged ahead slightly as her arm dangled around Tai's shoulder.

With a step forward, Tai grinned back up at her. "Like I said, I'm flattered. What else did she say?"

"You're incredibly obnoxious." Tek shook her head disapprovingly. "How long have you served here?"

"Let's see…" Her hand opened up, and Tai tapped each of her fingers. "I'm sixteen...so about… Like two years tops."

She snorted in amusement as Tek narrowed her eyes down at her. "Good lord. Now I feel bad for the commander."

"Aussie?" A lengthy yawn caused Tai to pause in place for a moment. "Nah, she loves me too much to let me go, same as I love screwing with her too much to leave."

"Must be a lovely relationship," Tek muttered underneath her breath.

Mockingly, Tai pressed both of her hands together by her chest and swooned. "It's made in heaven." She crossed her arms, and much to the other's annoyance, lifted them up and behind her head, pushing Tek's arm out of the way. "What about you?"

"What?" Tek cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

The wall made a slight clang as Tai pressed her hand onto it. "You have anyone in your life?"

For a moment, Tek inspected the Octoling again, peering at her from head to toe. In response, Tai merely cocked an eyebrow and a small smile. Tek's shoulders lowered calmly as if a weight had been lifted off of them.

"...I have my sister," Tek stated finally.

"Huh. What's she like," Tai asked as she leaned back on the wall.

An abrupt tremor rocked the base. The sirens continued to flash and blare and the shouts continued, only it seemed as the shouts grew louder over the sirens this time. Both Tai and Tek stumbled and glued themselves to the sides of the halls as the floor rocked back and forth.

"What are they doing," Tai complained while she attempted to stand up straight, "Are they blowing up more stuff in there?"

Another shock rumbled and shook the base.

"Oh no." Tek's eyes widened.

A horrible metallic screech ripped through the sirens' blares. The duo immediately clutched underneath their tentacles and shut their hands over their ears as the hallway contorted and splintered.

"Gah!" Tek grit her teeth irritably.

"Ugh!" Her escort shut one eye.

Out of the corners of Tek's eyes, she noticed a dent in the wall adjacent to Tai jut out. As she clamped her hands over her ears, she noticed the dent grow in size as whatever was on the other side continued to attempt to break into the hall.

Immediately, Tek attempted to shout a warning to the Octoling. Though she tried, the cacophony of metal as it teared and sirens as they blared nullified any attempt she made at contact. With a scowl, Tek leaped towards the other wall and tackled Tai, and both fell to the floor with a slam.

Much to the hybrid's dismay, being up close to Tai did mean that she could hear her cry out, "Agh, Cod, ow! What-"

"I'm saving you!" Tek shouted down at her.

Sheets and splinters of metal practically exploded outwards from the wall. The two ducked as close to the floor as they could manage as sharp fragments of the alloy rained across the hall. Out from the freshly created giant hole in wall, a blur launched out, and instantly rammed through the next wall. As the metal settled on the floor and the hallways still as obnoxiously noisy as ever, Tek lifted her face from the floor and glared out at the second hole in the wall.

A laughing individual atop a sparking machine flew off into the outskirts of Octo Valley, and vanished from view.

"No," Tek muttered breathlessly, "No, no, no, NO."

On the floor underneath her, Tai peered out the hole, with an expression of amazement paralyzed on her face. "Who…?"

Tai paused as Tek turned back to her. She marveled at Tek, as the hybrid now looked as though she were going to kill someone. Tai hoped she was not the target.

A frown manifested on Tai's lips. "...That wouldn't happen to be-"

"Tenta. She's loose." Tek's teeth clenched tightly.

"Well…"

All of a sudden, the alarms above them had ceased. The shouting had not stopped, and in fact had intensified into lots of terrified screams, but the lights had stopped blinking, with sunlight from the hole in its place. Debris was scattered across the floor and the walls had been shattered, but it seemed as though Tek and Tai were unharmed, the two of them gradually standing back up.

Right in front of DJ Octavio.

"Oh." Tai blinked. "Hey old man."

"...Tai." Octavio's green octopus eyes narrowed.

The giant magenta octopus sat in front of them with his tentacles crossed, a green cross-shaped scar on the left tentacle in the front. He sat in a small throne where a rocket thruster lifted the chair from underneath. The throne hovered, and pushed rebelliously against the ceiling as it floated. Despite the throne being absurdly cramped in the small hallway, he adjusted the golden samurai helmet atop his crown with one of separate tentacles casually.

The chair pivoted towards Tek. "Originally, I WAS going to tell you to clean up your mess…"

Octavio's fleshy tendril reached to the side of the throne and twisted a dial on the side. The throne fidgeted and buzzed, then whirled towards the hole quickly. The hybrid and the Octoling stood up straight and stared out the hole out at the rocky enclosure that was Octo Valley.

"But it looks like we might have a bigger issue on our tentacles." Octavio stated with a sigh.

* * *

AN: The Splatfest demo is today. Maybe I'll see you guys there?

Thanks Darkstar248 for reviewing. You know, if this were an actual novel, I might say it's a personal interpretation up to the reader which reflects the love and hate relationship with siblings similar to that of Tekken or something.

But all I can really say is that it's up to you on what that represented.

Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, don't forget to buy a capacitive stylus if you want to draw in Splatoon 2.


	4. Botheration - A Mandatory Survey

**Splat X Separation**

 **Mandatory Survey**

"What a drag," Octavio remarked with a tinge of annoyance as he shook his head. "Crazy chick went up and ruined a fine wall."

DJ Octavio shook his head slowly as he sat on his throne and gazed out at the valley. Part of the chair scraped the ceiling. Several Octarians had assembled in the halls, from the simple Octotrooper to the high-ranking Octoling. All were drawn to the holes in the walls, inspecting the broken metal curiously. A few shivered and backed away from the openings. Others glared at the metal as if it were radioactive.

"Poor walls…"

"Why? Why?!"

"Oh my C…I actually just got done cleaning the hangar."

"It's her, ain't it? It's gotta be that woman. The- The crazy one, that one."

Tek watched the Octarian forces survey the scene and pick at the destruction. Shaking her head, Tek leaned against the back wall with her arms slack by her side. Upon touch, a few fragments of metal dislodged from the wall and dropped to the floor, each one making a clatter as they hit the floor. She then withdrew herself from the wall quickly and stepped away into the center of the hall, only to find herself now centered in the spotlight of attention.

"Is that her right there?!"

Tek's eyebrow cocked up. "Hmm?"

"Look at her eyes…Is she one of them? They're Inkling eyes."

"The Inklings…You think they're going back on their promises? What if they send more of them down here?"

"Aw, this is worse than the time Tai let out those prisoners!"

Tai suddenly perked up from behind the Octarian forces. "Forget I was here?"

The Octotrooper she had poked her head up behind screamed and veered to the side. "Back! Back!"

"Hiss," Tai remarked.

Someone's call echoed through the hall, "Alright, alright, stand down! Get in position!"

The Octarian forces in the hallway shifted to face down the hall. Meek Octotroopers on mobile platforms and round Octoballs rolled out of the way. In the middle of the hallway, Aussie stomped towards the debris. She kicked a shard of steel towards the side with an assertive grunt and stood in place, straight and uniform.

With a devilish smirk, Tai waved. "Well, helloooooo commander."

"Save it, T-41," Aussie grumbled and walked past her.

As she did, Tai turned to Tek and rolled her eyes.

Aussie stopped, straightened herself again, and stared upon the troops, poised and alert. "Clean-up crews!"

"Yes ma'am," the Octarians chimed in.

Tek arched an eyebrow at each of the Octarians. In place of frightened octopuses now stood firm, prepared soldiers. Each had a look as though they were willing to die for a greater cause. Even the Octoballs, with their solid, singular green eyes tried their hardest to appear battle-ready. For a moment, she was almost impressed.

Aussie pointed down at the floor. "Get to it!"

"Hoo-rah!" The Octarians cheered.

Tek continued to stare at the Octarians with an amused, albeit microscopic smirk. Any traces of a smirk she might have had disappeared in an instant as soon as they began. The Octotroopers' mobile platforms began to rumble in place rapidly. From the front, a panel shifted open, and out popped a metal nozzle, pointed directly towards her. Her eyes widened in surprise and her shoulders stiffened.

The nozzle then shifted down towards the ground and began spitting out suds.

The entire squadron of Octotrooper's artillery spewed jets of water onto the floor that dripped down and spread underneath the debris. The water was dyed with a clean, white, bubbly substance that rode along the stream. With a scowl, Tek maneuvered around the liquid as it traveled down the hall. As the water spread further past the hall, DJ Octavio's throne lifted itself up into the air as the water traveled underneath. His expression remained stern and almost exhausted.

"Sponges," Aussie called and motioned down the hall.

The Octotrooper ranks shifted and retracted their nozzles, backing up into the hall. From behind the Octotroopers, several Octoballs rolled into view, each one of the spherical tentacles strapped with several, thick, fluffy sponges over their body secured with rope. Their mono-eyes stared at Tek curiously, to which she simply glared back. They shivered and huddled together.

Aussie snapped her fingers. "Stop staring at the woman and get moving! Octavio has places to be."

The Octoballs blinked, then…"saluted"...and rolled away into the halls. The sponges began to soak up the water as well as pick up the dirt, dust, and other debris scattered across the floor. Within seconds, the previous soaked and cluttered floor was cleared. The floor had been shined to a remarkable degree, to the point where Tek could glare at her own reflection in it.

Aussie clapped twice and pointed over her shoulder with the back of her thumb. "At ease, troops! The hallway is clear!"

The hallway erupted into a raucous bout of celebration. Octoballs began to hop up and down with their sponges still attached while the Octotroopers shot confetti up into the air using their nozzles.

"...Seriously?" Aussie protested as the confetti stuck to the ground, "Clean that up!"

All of a sudden, the Octotroopers ceased immediately and guiltily lowered their nozzles down to the ground. Their heads dropped low in shame, and the Octoballs froze in the middle of the air, staring down at the pile of confetti now in their way.

Aussie sighed and jabbed her finger down the hall. "Just clean that up."

The Octarian janitors hung their heads—or the closest thing to a head they had—and rolled away, picking up confetti as they went. Octavio and Aussie watched them and Tek stroll away.

"Hey, hold on a minute!" Octavio called out.

Taking hold of a lever on the armrest of his throne with his tentacle, he piloted his throne across the hall and positioned himself in the middle of the hall, blocking Tek's path. He peered at her suspiciously with his right eye.

"Where do you think you're going?" Octavio demanded, tapping the armrest.

Tek crossed her arms. "Going after my sister."

"No you aren't, you're going to come with us." Octavio pointed to himself.

"With all due respect, 'DJ'," Tek replied with a scowl, much to Octavio's displeasure, "Letting my sister continue through the valley is akin to letting a child play with nuclear weapons."

DJ Octavio's brow furrowed. "It's not just my call. Other divisions of my army aren't too pleased with letting her in the first place. They ain't happy about letting her out either We're discussing this."

Tek scowled. DJ Octavio's throne turned slightly, with Octavio's head still poking over the armrest and peering back at her.

"We both knew I couldn't stay generous forever, Tek," Octavio called as he floated down the hall, "You might be lucky."

Aussie and Tek watched him float down the hall and away. Aussie nudged Tek, gave her a short nod, and began to follow behind. For a moment, Aussie froze, glanced behind Tek, and scowled.

"And YOU stay here, you can watch the hole," Aussie commanded.

Tek turned around to spy a dull Tai, leaning on the wall. "Whatever, Commander Panty-Knot."

Aussie seethed but turned around swiftly to catch up with Octavio. Behind her back, Tai stuck her tongue out and leaned back on the wall. Reluctantly, Tek began to walk as well, but not before she peered back out of the hole in the wall. She took one, good long look out at the valley and the mountains ahead.

"Don't have too much fun," Tek muttered to the outside, "I'm coming for you."

Tai grinned and fluttered her eyes. "Ooh, really?"

"Not talking to you," Tek scowled and turned away.

"Prude!"

"Goblin."

She began to walk down the hall, trailing behind Aussie and the floating DJ, leaving Tai and the hole in the wall to themselves.

* * *

"I want her out."

"Agreed."

Tek glared at Octavio as he sat close by. "You have a very poor sense of what 'lucky' means, old man."

Octavio glowered at her, then turned to the large, round table in front of them. Everything in the room, from the table, the floor, to even the uncomfortable chairs were constructed of a dark-plated metal. The middle of the table was embedded with a notably large shard of metal stuck in the middle.

Tek scowled. "Interesting decoration."

Octavio crossed his tentacles. "Long story."

"Excuse me! Are you listening?"

The both of them turned and stared across the table. Sitting in a circle around the circle was an assorted collection of Octarian forces, all garbed with medals, snazzy uniforms, and facial hair. Surrounding the decorated officials were foot soldiers, such as Octotroopers and Octolings, all prepared with their weapons, readily scanning the room cautiously.

There was one tall Octosniper at the end of the table opposite to Tek. He was stout, with an elderly air to him, not to mention the variety of different honors he wore on his tentacle. His eyes bore into her as if she were a time bomb.

"This involves you, you realize," The Octosniper announced, "Your sister has caused enough problems as it is."

"Not everything my sister does is my fault, you realize," Tek spoke in a scornful voice, "However, someone needs to go out there and bring her back before she causes any damage."

The Octosniper huffed, "You've seen the hangar and the hallway? She's built a prototype Octoweapon without our notice, she's stolen one of our U.F.O.s, and that's not even mentioning the behavioral issues she's caused."

"Again, not my fault that she's that way," Tek crossed her arms, "I trusted you people to contain her, and you obviously failed."

There was a fit of murmuring and discussion amidst the congregation. The armed forces looked to one another with hesitation.

"Are you implying we're 'babysitters,' Miss Tek?" The Octosniper leaned across the table while sitting. "It was only due to the generosity of DJ Octavio that you were permitted to stay."

"So I've heard," Tek muttered.

The council instinctively turned to the other side of the table and stared at the octopus. Octavio adjusted himself in his throne and coughed unceremoniously.

"That's right," Octavio admitted.

Tek shook her head. "I don't expect you to babysit her. I expected that your defenses would prevent her from damaging the outside."

"Where exactly? The rocks? The barren platforms? Our kettles? Or perhaps Inkopolis, the enemy capital?" The Octosniper scoffed.

"Any and all destruction to any of those places threaten your people," Tek argued back.

"What if your presence is what threatens us in the first place, Miss Tek?" The Octosniper offered, "Ever since you've gotten here, there have been issues left and right, such as the increased activity of Inkling agents. That's not even mentioning the hordes of rebels hounding us."

Suddenly, Aussie walked up from the armed forces and up to the table, planting her foot down. "With all due respect, sir…"

The Octosniper arched an eyebrow. "Commander Aussie."

Aussie cleared her throat. "4U55-13, General M-45-4."

"Masa," General Masa corrected, "What do you hope to add to this?"

"Ahem," Aussie murmured and stood tall, "I don't see what her arrival has to do with our rebellion problem, sir. That seems…"

She glanced towards the other Octarians. Aussie took a quick breath, then turned back to Masa diligently.

Aussie muttered, "Unfair."

"Unfair?" Masa bellowed, rising above Aussie, "Commander, we have been at war for over a century. I certainly hope that you don't believe that this…"

He shot a glare at Tek as she stood across the table. In return, Tek glared right back.

"Person," Masa muttered, "Is completely clear of suspicion. You've seen her, have you not?"

Aussie crossed her arms. "General-"

"It's caution. We have every right to be cautious in this day and age, Aussie." Masa declared, "We don't know how long these Inklings will let us rest. The majority believes we're done and Octavio's locked away."

There were several nods from the council assembled. The Octotroopers and Octolings surrounding the table looked to one another, all with varying levels of nervousness on their faces. Octavio's eyes closed as he sat, deep in thought.

General Masa "If not for the destruction of our base, the expulsion of you and your 'jinx' shall suffice," he demanded, cocking one eye at Tek, "Right now."

Tek's eyes flashed. She adopted an upright fighting stance, fist pointed towards the Octosniper. As she did, all of the bodyguards in the room set their sights on her. Octotroopers outstretched their arms and aimed their Octoshot guns, while Octotroopers on platforms prepared to fire the cannons inside their platform. Even General Masa prepared to throw down, as his chair extended into a raised platform, complete with a scope and an elongated ink rifle directed down at Tek. He raised his mouth to a mouthpiece connected to the rifle, sucked in air, and puffed his cheeks.

Tek's shoulders drooped. "...I see you were ready for me."

Masa puffed, pulled away from the rifle, and spoke,"Before we eject you, I suppose I should tell you, we were going to try this on your sister, but she left before we could enact the plan."

"Wait!"

"Whoa, you're gonna krill her? That's screwed, man."

Masa's eyes widened. "Who let HER in here?"

The Octolings and the Octotroopers aimed their weapons away from Tek and towards the back of the room. Instantly, they all lowered their weapons, albeit now with varying expressions of perturbation. Two Octolings walked up to the table, with Tai leading herself, her head held high and her back slouched over. Tek's eyebrow rose in curiosity, as behind Tai was another Octoling, unarmed and staring at her.

"The one from the hangar," Tek pointed out, much to the other Octoling's embarrassment.

Waltzing up to the table nonchalantly, Tai planted her elbow on top of the table with her hand on her cheek, wearing the smuggest of looks. "I go where I want, Masa."

"...Indeed," Masa uttered, displeasure practically dripping from his mouth, "What could you possibly have to add to the conversation?"

"Besides some Inkanese?" Tai suggested with a wink.

"No!" Hollered nearly everyone in the room.

Tai giggled to herself. "Alright, alright, no Inkanese. You bakas."

The room echoed with a chorus of groans. Octavio shrunk into his throne and Tek suddenly found it hard not to get up and strangle the Octoling.

"Here's the sitch," Tai spoke as she leaned across the table and pointed, "This 'jinx' here saved my life."

The assembly turned back to Tek. She tensed up and glanced from face to face. Nothing but curiosity. Slowly and cautiously, Tek returned to her seat and sat straight up, searching each of the Octarians, waiting for a volatile reaction.

"...How should that keep us from throwing her out?" A voice called out from the crowd.

Tai rolled her eyes. "Ha ha."

"If anything, we should prioritize throwing her out more than ever." The voice announced again.

The crowd began to chuckle and sneer. Octolings and Octotroopers alike began to snicker, lowering their weapons and whispering among themselves amidst laughter. Unamused, Tai stood up, hopped on top of the table, and walked across, much to the discomfort and annoyance of the council gathered around it. As she walked, Tai strut as though she were a model, kicking over important sheets gathered on the table or smirking at the Octarians.

"Hey Auss," Tai greeted as she walked by.

Aussie covered her Octoling Goggles with her hand and tilted her head to the floor."You're an embarrassment, Tai."

"Anything for you, babe." Tai winked.

"Shut up and get to the point," Aussie muttered.

Masa leaned over his chair and glared down at Tai. "If you don't have anything to add, get out before- Silence!"

The laughter in the room ground to a halt. Humor was replaced with an awkward silence.

"If you don't have anything to add, get out before I decide to put matters into my own hands," Masa declared.

He then bent down and inspected his own body from head to stump.

"Or tentacle," he put with a fierce scowl.

"Actually, I do believe that there was some other thing I had in mind. What was it?" Tai wondered aloud and leaned on Masa's chair, "Hmm…I think I may have forgotten. Hey, Clariss?"

The Octoling scientist Tek noticed had stood up straight. "Yes, ma'am!"

"...Tai," She responded in turn, "And yeah, didn't you have something to say?"

Masa's eyes lit up. "Clariss?"

Clariss adjusted her glasses and looked up. "Hi, dad."

Masa sighed and glared back down towards Tai. "Who do you think you are?"

"The daughter of a Great Turf War vet, probably," Tai shrugged her shoulders, "We share those two things in common, right Clariss?"

Clariss nodded gently.

"We also share the fact that Tek saved our skin, right Clariss?" Tai asked aloud, wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

Clariss nodded again, albeit more enthusiastically. She turned to Tek, giving her a light smile. Tek's shoulders eased up as she stared. She turned to the table and looked up and straight into Masa's eyes with a dead serious gaze. Masa looked as though he would fall over.

"You saved her?" Masa pointed himself to Clariss with an increasingly nervous look.

"That's beside the point, general," she spoke and stood up, "These two won't be the only ones threatened if I don't get out there and find my sister now."

Masa furrowed his brow. "...On what authority?"

"His," Tek mentioned and jabbed her thumb towards DJ Octavio, "As well as yours, general."

"Hm?" Octavio blinked sleepily, "Oh, yeah, you've got my vote."

"Octavio!" Masa shouted, "You can't be-"

Before Masa could say another word, Octavio tiredly extended his tentacles to his throne's controls and tapped a handful of buttons. The base trembled for a moment. Suddenly, from the ceiling, two robotic fists smashed clean through, scattering debris on the table. All of the Octarians hit the deck and scrambled under the table or leaped out of the way of the falling shrapnel. The table deflected most of the falling fragments of the ceiling.

"What do you know," Octavio laughed as he looked up at the roof, "This room doesn't look too bad with a skylight."

As the Octarians reassembled themselves, they turned and stared, awestruck at their leader. Two large, metal fists floated by Octavio's side with one crossed over the other.

"We have work to do like you said, Masa. I don't have time to talk the talk anymore. Let the chick go find her homicidal sister," Octavio ordered.

Masa stared at the metal fists and sighed. "No wonder we have rebels encroaching on our doorstep," he muttered with a shake of his head, "Fine. But under one condition?"

Octavio arched an eyebrow.

"She needs escorts," Masa announced.

"Done." Octavio nodded, then turned across the table to where an Octoling was crawling out of, "You heard the general."

Tai and Aussie glanced to one another as they crawled out from underneath the table. Tai had on a bright smile, whereas Aussie looked as though she would vomit.

Tek poked out from underneath the table and swept pieces of metal off of the desk. "Thank you, general."

"That's all. Y'all are free now!" Octavio pumped his fist in the air.

The armed forces happily retrieved themselves from the desk, giddily retreating into the halls and out of the room. Octavio floated away on his throne, and the other, old Octarian veterans picked themselves up from their desks and followed suit at a slower pace. All except for one.

"Clariss?" Masa spoke up all of a sudden.

The small Octoling scientist paused, then turned around and stared up at him. "Yes, sir?"

"First dad, then sir…" Masa shook his head sadly, "Nevermind that. I'd like to discuss something with you."

Masa stared at Tek with an almost defeated expression. "You're free to try."

"I will," Tek announced and turned around, "Escorts."

"Yes, ma'am." Aussie nodded and walked around the table.

"Alright, let's go kick some bass!" Tai shouted and jumped up on the table.

Aussie pressed her hands to her temples. "Just one mission, just one mission."

The trio walked out of the room just as Masa lowered himself in his chair and down to Clariss' level. The last thing Tek saw from the two in that room was Clariss standing up to embrace Masa in her arms. The doors shut, and Tek turned her attention to down the hall. The three of them walked through the base, a mission on their mind.

" _Now, for sure, I'm coming for you, Tenta."_ Tek thought to herself.

* * *

AN: I've delayed my own stories and the stories of other people's characters. Someone stop me. Or rather, kickstart me? I dunno.

Thanks, Darkstar248, for reviewing, even though this was a few months ago. I appreciate that someone else likes the Maria and Jack scenes, which makes it all the more awkward to recognize that I didn't include one this chapter. Still, thank you for your review.

Thanks for reading, this is ThePizzaLovingTurtle, off to work on more stories.


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